Father Chris Riley, founder of charity Youth Off The Streets, dies aged 70

Father Chris Riley, founder of charity Youth Off The Streets, has died aged 70.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Chris Minns on Friday paid tribute to the “visionary” and big-hearted priest, who started the charity in 1991 with a single food van providing meals to young homeless people in Sydney’s King’s Cross.

Father Chris Riley, who founded charity Youth Off The Streets in 1991, has died aged 70.

Youth Off The Streets confirmed that Riley had died at home on Thursday, July 31, following a long period of ill health.

Albanese said Riley, whom he described as a good friend, had “a heart as big as the country he served”.

“He gave hope to young people doing it tough and never gave up on anyone,” Albanese said.

Minns said Riley’s “visionary work” had changed the lives of tens of thousands of young people in NSW.

“Father Riley believed there is no child born bad, only circumstances to overcome, and he spent over three decades proving that with compassion and opportunity, young lives can be transformed,” he said.

Chris Riley with former NSW premier Bob Carr in 1996.

Riley was born in Echuca, Victoria in 1954, and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 1982. He later relocated to Sydney and established Youth Off The Streets, which has since expanded to provide wraparound services, including crisis accommodation, counselling and education support, to people aged 12 to 24 in NSW and Queensland.

Riley served as the organisation’s chief executive for almost three decades before moving on to the board as executive director in 2020. He stepped down from this role in 2022 due to illness, which the Herald first reported in 2021.

The Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay had previously said that Riley, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2019, had moved into respite care after receiving treatment in hospital for diabetes-related complications.

In a statement posted to the charity’s website on Friday, Youth Off The Streets chief executive Judy Barraclough said Riley’s work to support young Australians in need had left a “powerful legacy”.

Chris Riley in 2015 with Indonesian students who were looked after by Youth Off The Streets after being orphaned in the Boxing Day tsunami.

“His vision, drive and determination will continue to inspire our organisation as we strive to provide growing numbers of disadvantaged children and young people with safety, support and education for a better future,” she said.

Youth Off The Streets chair Anne Fitzgerald said Riley was “a tireless advocate for homeless and disadvantaged youth”.

“He inspired and changed thousands of young lives,” she said.

“Father Riley will be remembered for his compassion, tenacity and unwavering belief that every young person deserves the chance to reach their full potential.”

Riley, who joined the Salesian religious order straight from school, was inspired by the 1938 movie Boys Town, based loosely on the work of Father Edward Flanagan.

He decided at the age of 14 that he wanted to work with homeless young people. After graduating as a teacher and taking his vows, Riley worked for two years with the Boys’ Town charity in Sydney, then studied for a theology degree at the Melbourne College of Divinity.

Riley told the Herald in 2012 that the four years of full-time study did not suit him. “I found it really difficult to live in a non-working religious community, so I started to experiment,” he said.

Unitarian minister Reverend Bill Crews said he was deeply saddened at the news of the passing of “my dear, dear friend and colleague”.

“Chris was a tireless advocate for young people who had nowhere else to go,” he said.

“There are countless young lives across this country that were permanently changed because of him, kids who were lost, hurting, and written off, who found hope and a new future through his work.”

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